We are spoiled!!!

We'll we got back form the Bighorn river last Monday night. We had a great time despite the 50mph winds and the 3,000 people that also thought it would be a great weekend to fish. Not many fish were caught, and Grace didn't get one either. She is however hooked for life. She got to sample Montana and the West. I think she fell in love with it. I told her if she had a great time on this trip she'll really love when the weather is better and the fish are a bit more willing to play. She toughed out the worst conditions that I've fished in for some time and was willing to keep at it. She proved her salt and is welcome on any trip.
The experience really got me thinking. Man do I have it good here in the Upper Midwest. There are hardly any crowds on the rivers I fish and the fishing really is world class. If I see one or two boats on the water during the day I wonder what is going on. I know that this is going to start happening more and more as people learn how good we have it, but I can never see it as bad as I did this last weekend. There were at least three people in each hole and I bet we saw at least 100 boats on Sunday.
I encourage everyone to step back a little and look what we have right in front of us. The fishing here is as good as anywhere. It might not be trout but I'll take a 18" smallmouth over a 18" trout any day of the week. We are blessed to live in such a great area that is basically unknown.

Get out and enjoy it!!!!

Kip

Is it the trip or is it planning and Packing?

A big Bighorn River Rainbow from a few years back. Hopefully to be repeated this year.



In three days my daughter Grace, friend Jim(I use that word loosely) and I are head the the Bighorn River in Montana for a long weekend trout excursion. This will be Grace's first big fishing trip and I'm praying that it goes well. All I'm asking for is that she catch just one nice trout (16"+) on her own. Hopefully this isn't to tall of an order.

This brings me back to my title of this post. Is it the planning or is it the trip? I'm one of those guys that takes almost more pleasure in the planning stage. Don't get me wrong, I love the trip part too, but I think it is the planning and anticipation that I get a bigger kick out. Maybe it has something to do with Grace going along, but this trip really has me giddy. I have been tying flys, ordering things I don't really need, checking the boat at least once a day, and driving my wife a little nuts.

My friend Jim will show up at the house the night we leave with his stuff and we'll leave. That's it, he'll just be glad to be out of the office for a few days. I on the other hand am to busy getting everything just so before the trip. I think he knows there's not to much to worry about because I have that handled for everyone involved. I have been lying awake at night thinking about what flys to use, what holes to fish, and what to do if someone beats us to them. I shouldn't do this because usually a trip never matches ones anticipation.

Please post comments on what your thoughts are on the question.

I would love to get others ideas.

I'll let you all know how it goes on a post when we get back.

There is still plenty of room for our spring creek trip on April 17th thru the 20th. Give me a call if you are interested.


I also one spot to fill on the smallmouth trip from hell.


Give us a call on booking days and we'll be happy to speak with you about the up coming seasons dates.


Kip

Were did the time go?

Here are some of the highlights to the season that was 2007. The first picture is Joseph Meyer from One More Cast In Chicago with probably the nicest fish of the year. 5+ lbs. The picture doesn't do the fish justice. The second is my son Truman with his first true fish on the fly rod. The last to are a couple of Musky that were boated during the "Trip from Hell."

I can't believe it is the day after Christmas! I see that my last post was late August. I'm sorry for not doing a better job of keeping everyone up to date. I will try harder this coming year. When the season is rolling and it is one trip after another, post on a blog is not number 1 on the to do list. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and the celebration of our Saviors birth was a blessed one.

Well show season starts in just over a month. Thoughts of the summer to come will begin to creep into our minds and the hope that it will bring another fabulous summer of fishing. This last season was one of the better I can remember. We landed many nice fish and shared wonderful hours on the river with each other.

I am busy starting to tie some flys, looking for that magic bug that will drive the fish crazy. Tying is not one of my favorite past times but it keeps me out of trouble and thinking of different ways to fish and present fly in a more effective manner.

The boy from Tight Lines and I held our annual meeting on Christmas Eve Morning. This has become a bit of a tradition and I really look forward to it each year. We sit around drinking coffee and swapping stories from the past year. We did come up with the dates for the Smallmouth trip From Hell you have heard me talk about. This years trip is June 18 thru the 21st. We will start in Green Bay and work our way west. Four of the best smallmouth rivers in the country in four days. If you are interested in this trip let me know. We are only taking a max of four boats. Spots will not last long.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and stop by and see us at the shows.

Welcome Back Gary!!!

One of my very good and dear friends made it back! It was a joy to have Gary back in the boat after some heart trouble earlier this year. We weren't ten minutes into the trip and Gary had his first fish on a black popper. I think the Lord was saying to both of us that it would be a great day to be alive and he didn't disappoint. Here's to many more trips Gary and more large smallmouth.

The bass are really going strong and with September here tomorrow it will only get better. The big boys are going to start their fall feed bag soon and if you want to be apart of it there are still a few choice dates left.

Joseph Meyer from One More Cast in Chicago land with a 20 inch, 5 1/2 lb giant. More fish like this are going to be eating this fall.

Trico Time and a day off!

Well I had a cancellation yesterday. This gave me a chance for me to do some fishing. I headed east to the Rush River to enjoy a morning of Trico fishing. I sometimes forget in the heat of the smallmouth season what a great resource we have in our Western Wisconsin Spring Creeks. I had the whole river to myself and the bugs were coming of in droves. It was truly a beautiful morning to be alive in God's creation. I worked pod after pod of rising fish. Once I got into trout mode things began to click. It takes me a good half hour to get used to casting those delicate Trico patterns to smaller fish than I'm used to. To go from a size 2 streamer to a size 22 Trico spinner pattern is quit the culture shook for me this time of year. If you have a chance to get over and enjoy some early mornings on these great rivers i would recommend it. Don't forget the bass. They are really going strong and it is the heart of the season now!! They are really eating and some big fish are being taken.

Keep casting and God Bless,

Kip

The quest for 20

Many of my customers are on the quest for the illusive 20" smallmouth. Well one of them reached his goal on July 24th. Duane Phinney has been chasing large smallmouth with me for three years and all his hard work paid off. Duane got this brute on a popper making it all the better. Duane is a big smallmouth addict and I think they are now his number 1 target with the fly. The big fish are finally starting to make the presence known and the fishing the last few weeks has been very good. The temperatures are warm and so is the fishing. If you would like to chase some brutes of your own give us a call.

Keep Casting and God Bless,

Kip

We survived the trip from hell!

The trip from hell was one of the best trips I have ever been apart of. I think everyone that participated had and outstanding time . A lot of fish were caught including a couple of Muskie's. The rivers that we fished were great and we had a little of everything weather wise. Fishing four rivers in four days is a lot of work but well worth it. Each day brought a new river and a new adventure. Traveling across Minnesota and Wisconsin like a band of fly fishing Gypsies was the real test. After each days fishing the caravan would roll to the next destination. Stopping for dinner and then hopefully some sleep before the next day began. To say we were in it would be and understatement. It was great fun! When the trip ended Bart Landwehr(King of the North Woods and my partner in this adventure) looked at each other and we couldn't believe that it was over. We wanted to do it again. I guess we will but it will have to be next year. Thanks to all again and if you would like to get a spot on next years trip let us know and we will put you on the waiting list. The fishing is good so get out there. If you would like a date for this year there are still a select few dates open.

Keep Casting,

Kip